Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Life Expectancy Of MREs?

Doing some garage cleaning and came across an unopened case of MREs from a past hurricane. Upon opening the case, I have looked in vain for any expiration date. The only date I can find is a manufacturing or packing date of 2011. Other markings appear to be lot numbers. The case has been stored inside an ice chest in my unheated/uncooled garage for about 10 years, I guess. I opened one of the meals and all internal packaging looks factory fresh. I then opened an entree of enchiladas and it did not smell bad and no fuzzy stuff growing on it. It didn't taste particularly bad, but obviously would have been much better if warmed up and doused with hot sauce. That was 40 minutes ago and no ill effects, so far. So, anyone know what the safe usable life of these are?

There is no set expiration date for MREs. It depends entirely on storage conditions. Ones that have been solidly frozen have been fine after 20 years. Yours were not stored in ideal conditions, but the mains may still be safe to eat - even if they have lost a lot of what wasn't much flavor to begin with. I would NOT trust packets of cheese, however.

An MRE will make a turd. But that's about it.

I suspect the heating unit won't work in old, old ones, but the food inside is probably suitable to make a turd.

If I was hungry enough to really want to eat one, date probably
wouldn't matter.

Canned food isn't a worry either.
I'm not eating anything way old, but I'm not hungry.
The stores have food and I have cash. But hungry, I'm eating anything
in a sealed can that isn't compromised.

MREs are made at the Sopakco Plant here in SC.

I've toured the plant, it's an incredible operation.

There is a date scale, a Best By scale, packed with cases. I'd go pop one open and look but here's the bottom line if I remember correctly.

It's all based upon constant storage temperatures.

20° and below ... indefinitely (according to military)




https://www.mreinfo.com/mres/mre-shelf-life/

When I was in Boy Scouts back in the 60s on military bases, We've consumed a lot of surplus WW2 and Korea War MREs out camping...

The scoutmaster use to confiscate the cigarettes that came in them...

but I never smoked anyway, ever... so no big deal to me.

Fugg it...
Eat em if they look and smell good.
Your gut and sphincter will eventually let ya know one way or the other.


Sure as fuuuuk would not eat a menu # 22 shrimp jambalaya.
Starving dog in a bombed out mig 21 bunker at the mosul airfield turn her nose to that one, but would eat the fugg outta the other 23 menu,s.

Even dogs knew menu # 22 sucked azz back then.

The brothers liked it though....
Go figure.....


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The Cheese Omelet MREs are super tasty for 50 years...

Trust me!

Well, no, Seafire. You did not eat MREs from WWII or Korea. They did not exist then. MRE's came about in the mid-1980s. You ate rations of one kind or another but they were not MREs.

Using MRE as a generic name for any and all rations is like calling all airplanes Piper Cubs.

Fuuuk....
When I went to OSUT at Harmony Church in 83 for about the 1st 7 weeks we was eating C Rats with 68 date on em.
Then we got new fangled MRE,s ...
Woooo eeeeeee.

Drills, all exicited about em too...

That schit all wore off quick.
The fuuuking loaf meats and loaf meat combo,s in some of em...
Uh huh.....
LRRP,s/ dehydrated field rations in Germany on Border Gaurd 86 to 88 and in Korea in 89 90 were actually not that bad if ya let em reconstitute with water the right amount of time.
You eat them things dry or partially rehydrated they will dehydrate you quick and most def plug up your ass for a day or 3...

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Here is the truth, you just need to inspect them, any off-gassing?

Because I actually use them often, I cycle them out often. I wouldn’t keep one beyond 10 years.

The ones I keep in my vehicle I eat or trash within 2 years

I don’t even buy the full MRE’s (tan plastic) anymore because there is much wasted items, I buy the BDU side pocket “lunch” (clear package) menus. I eat these at least twice per week. They are maybe $4.50 each at the base commissary.

Call me nuts...
But I used to like the dehydrated pork and beef patties.
Some times just stick one or 2 in my cargo pocket out training.
Eat em , chew em good , gulp some water from a canteen.
Hold it in my mouth for about 20 secs.
Swallow.
Repeat...

Keep on rolling doing whatever.
Sometimes ya just gotta eat when ya can when your on the move or a 50 50 security halt.

The coolest thing about those would be how they looked when you puked them out through your regulator while scuba diving too. You’d be surrounded by schools of fish.

So what you are saying, the MRE’s I bought before Y2K, and have stored in my attic here in Houston probably aren’t any good. Darn it.

I don’t know man, I wouldn’t touch them.

When I was in the Navy we found a cache of C and K rations from WWII.Smoked the Lucky Strikes in the Green and White 5 packs ,eat the chocolate and even tried the beef stew.

Urban legend Johnny...
Come on man....

Seen plenty of 82nd guys eating em when we would do 96 hr edre,s from Campbell to Bragg in the early 90,s.
Plenty of Buds I knew here at Campbell in the LRSD unit also.
And all the Blackhawk pilots and crews also.

I never did see a problem with them at altitude or decent.

Ok johnny.

Now that ya added that.
I can beleive it about scuba diving.

Chum....
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Cleaning out and demo-ing the old house on the old place last week found 1/2 case of C-rats! LOL! Some hadn’t exploded! 🤣🤣🤣